National talk radio personality Rush Limbaugh will join ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown to provide the voice of the fan and to spark debate on the show, the network announced Monday.

Limbaugh will appear weekly and make his debut when Sunday NFL Countdown premieres Sept. 7.

"Football is like life and I know life," Limbaugh said in a statement. "I am a big fan of the NFL and now I get to do what every football fan would love to do. I get to take my observations from the living room couch to the ESPN studios and talk football with the best journalists and players in the business."

Limbaugh, who will appear either on the show's Bristol, Conn., set or via satellite, will provide a weekly opinion piece on an aspect of the NFL making news that week, and participate in impromptu exchanges with the analysts and challenging their opinions on various issues. Limbaugh will be allotted three challenge opportunities to use at his discretion during the show.

"Rush is a great communicator and a fan's fan," said Mark Shapiro, ESPN's executive vice president of programming and production. "His acute sense of what's on the minds of his listeners combined with his ability to entertain and serve as a lightning rod for lively discussion makes him the perfect fit for this new role.

"We want to give fans a voice, and Rush is the person who can do it."

As host of the top-rated Rush Limbaugh Show, Limbaugh has established a following of almost 20 million listeners in more than 650 markets worldwide. Limbaugh has written two national bestsellers, "The Way Things Ought to Be" and "See, I Told You So." One of his first jobs was as director of group sales for the Kansas City Royals in 1979.